My 1st blog award~ Rock Liebster!

I was thrilled to discover I recently received a Liebster award from film blogger and gal pal, Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club. Thanks, Paula! The Liebster award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers. It’s is a fun way to promote fellow blogs and discover new ones.

Here are the Rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.5. Go to their page and tell them. I think letting people know on Twitter is cool.6. NO TAG BACKS. Although I will answer my own questions.

I love to speak in accents. It started when I was 11 or 12 years old when I loved to watch Monty Python with my uncle Patrick on PBS. I would act out various skits with my little sister from the Cheese Shoppe to Dead Parrot to singing The Lumberjack song. I perfected my British accent (in my own mind, at least) then branched out to other accents from characters I watched in movies and TV. Funny thing is, I never quite stopped. I still break out in accents randomly at my house and my kids have picked up the habit now, too. One celebrity voice I cannot seem to master (but working on) is Christopher Walken.

I’m likely the most transparent and outspoken person you’ll ever meet. Beyond being extremely friendly (I’ve been told more than once that I don’t know a stranger), I don’t hold back on how I feel about any given topic. People either find this very charming or very off-putting. Of course, I shelf this trait while on the job in my professional life, but otherwise- look out! This also makes me the ideal fit for broadcasting through social media such as Twitter and… blogging!

My childhood was rather…colorful. Too many details to mention fully but I experienced some interesting years in Taos, NM. I was born in Kansas, where my parents divorced when I was 7 years old. After struggling financially as a single parent, my Mom announced: “if we’re going to be poor, let’s at least be poor someplace pretty.” We loaded up the VW bug and moved to Taos, NM. My Mom got us by waiting tables, bartending and with food stamps. Taos is a rustic art colony and a celebrity hide-away. Mom hung out with artists and musicians like Neil Young and Michael Martin Murphy. We lived in an adobe house with a dirt floor, an outhouse and we bathed out of a large kitchen sink. After a 5 year battle with breast cancer, my Mom died at the young age of 34. I was 14. My little sister and I moved back to Kansas to live with relatives. My grandmother insisted I get a good private education so she paid for me to attend a Catholic High School in an affluent community. After 2 years, she informed me she was no longer able to pay for this. Thereafter, I paid for the private tuition and books on my own with my part-time job at Macy’s.

I’m known for my HUGE smile. This is a physical trait, with a mouthful of naturally large and straight teeth, that I clearly picked up from my mother. My kids tease me about it with comments like, “you can see your smile from space” or “it’s like Shark Week on your face.” Aren’t kids such stinkers?!

My first official job was as a soda jerk. I was 14 and still living in Taos. My best friend’s dad owned the Rexall drug store in town that also housed an old-fashioned snack shop with a long counter that served hamburgers, ice cream and hand-mixed sodas. No longer a drug store, it still exists today as a souvenir shop (see photo below, taken on a recent trip). That counter looks the same as it did 30 years ago and still serves sodas and ice cream but the soda fountain is modernized.

I’m proud of my Irish heritage. I’m fortunate to have a family that researches our genealogy. I have Irish roots on both sides of my family. My father’s side are the O’Sullivan’s from county Kerry area. My Mom’s side are the O’Donnell’s from Donegal county. Recently, my aunt and uncle went to our Irish family’s little town called Cashleenan and actually spent the night in the white-washed cottage home of my great, great grandfather John O’Donnell. This cottage is still in the family, on our Irish family’s land and still maintained, complete with peat-burning stove.

I’m passionate about politics. Okay, I’ll admit I’m passionate about many things. But you only have to follow my twitter account to see that politics and classic film are the dominate topics for me. I think my early years of struggling with poverty lit a fire in me to speak out for human rights and equality.

I’m madly in love with my husband. My 1st marriage didn’t work out but I’m blessed with 2 dark-haired sassy and goofy teen girl versions of me. A few years after my divorce, I had recently broken up with a boyfriend and found myself single again so I decided to try out out Match.com. That’s when I met my current husband. His profile photo was a squirrel- my kinda guy! His bio revealed a creative, sweet, funny guy who also loved being a good parent to his 2 kids and was a movie enthusiast too! We had a blast with our classic film themed wedding and we’ve been on the “live happily ever after” plan ever since!

Both my grandfather’s were pilots. My father’s father was an aviation mechanic in WW2 in the South Pacific for the Navy. He worked for the FAA as an aviation inspector until he retired in his early 50’s. He spent his retirement years flying and building planes from scratch in his garage-turned-hangar. My mother’s father was a WW2 officer and B-17 bomber pilot for the Air Force, based in England. He flew 30 missions, including the French Underground. He retired in his mid 40’s but died at the young age of 47. My first flying experience was at the young age of 6 weeks in a single engine plane. I have many memories of attending Fly-Ins and air shows. My Mom was very petite so she subbed as a wing-walker more than once.

My first crush was on Donny Osmond. I think perhaps it was the mutual big teeth connection!

I once gave a funeral for a mouse. As a child while house-sitting for a friend, I was slicing cheese on a cutting board when I accidentally dropped my knife on the floor. As I picked up the knife, I saw a dead mouse lying there. There was no sign of outward injury so apparently the knife handle was a life-ending blow. My sister and I carefully wrapped the mouse in tissue, placed it in an empty orange juice can. We dressed in all black, started “Funeral For Friend” by Elton John on the record-player and slowly marched outside in procession. We respectfully stated a few words about what a good mouse he must have been. Then we buried him adjacent a particularly beautiful cactus and placed a hand-made marker.

My answers to Paula’s questions:

1. What is your guilty movie pleasure? It’s tough to narrow down to just one. I’d say “Flash Gordon,” “Independence Day,” “The Burbs” 2. What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade? Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (not sure that’s mediocre but it’s hard to think of mediocre films!) 3. Are there any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era? Michael Fassbender, Robert Downey Jr., Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Leo DiCaprio, Tom Hiddleston, Gary Oldham, Benedict Cumberbatch4. What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels? “The Gold Diggers of 1933,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” and “The Mummy”

5. Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself? Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson because I love a majority of their movies but hate being so obvious as to choose the work that the “hipster kids” enjoy- because I don’t want it to appear I chose them based on what’s trendy.6. Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)? Mary Tyler Moore. (Coincidentally, my family’s genealogy research discovered she’s actually a distant relative of mine.) I think she has many facial similarities but mostly, she can be identical to me when she gets frustrated or upset, in the most comical way. My hubby was torn between choosing MTM due to the reasons just stated and Selma Hayek for the dark hair and my curvy body type (more like 10 years ago) and she has humor abilities too. Yeah, let’s stick with MTM.

7. Mac or PC? Mac. While every job I’ve ever had has provided PCs, I prefer working on my hubby’s Mac.8. What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign? Scorpio… I don’t rely on astrology for anything with consistency like a science but I do relate to some key characteristics of my sign. 9. What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner? Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Groucho Marx, Mel Brooks, Katherine Hepburn10. Favorite movie snack. Junior Mints (well, with popcorn of course!)11. Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater. Nothing crazy really. As a kid, my Mom’s friend was the town’s projectionist so he’d let us sneak into the theater for free. Saw “The Omen” when I was only 10 or 11 years old. My hands covered my eyes for most of it but I thought it was thrilling! Unless you consider my most memorable thing in a movie theater was my classic film themed wedding. Yup, I guess many would think getting married as the craziest thing that’s ever happened to someone in a movie theater. Seemed happily right at home to me.

(I can’t describe how terribly difficult it was to narrow that list to only eleven- SO many great film bloggers out there that I adore!)

And my eleven questions:

1. What is your earliest classic film memory?2. Who are your top favorite directors (modern or classic)?3. How has your love of movies (classic or modern) influenced other areas of your life?4. What film/s (classic or modern) do you think has the best music score?5. Who are your favorite character actors (modern or classic) and why? (Biased, shameless plug.)6. Which films have made the most impact from a fashion perspective in your opinion and/or are simply your favorite/s from a fashion/style/design perspective (modern or classic)? 7. Who are your favorite villains (modern or classic)? 8. If you were in a classic film, who would play you, your best pal and your significant other?9. If you could choose any television show (modern or classic), which show would you do a remake of and feel free to add who would star (modern or classic/dead or alive) in it.10. What’s your favorite sassy/snarky come-back line from any film?11. Who are your favorite comedy actors?

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I love this Kellee, it's so interesting reading all about you & your life. I have that accent habit too (how many kids have those Brits warped?) About 5 minutes into any conversation, I will start mimicking someone's accent & hope they don't think I'm making fun of them, cos I can't stop.I think it's awesome that you know so much about your heritage! I'm probably almost half Irish, and all I know is that my father's mother was a McQuillan from Co. Monaghan. I think MTM is the perfect choice to play you.How could I forget about Robt. Downey Jr.? Getting married at a movie theater isn't crazy, that's so cool.I see we doubled up on some of our awardees…they'll HAVE to do this now 😉 Thanks Kellee!

Hi Kellee! I always thought you were cool… now I KNOW you're cool! As Paula noted, it is interesting to learn more about you and your life – wonderful and inspiring! You're fortunate to know so much about your heritage. I'm thankful I knew my great-grandfather as I was growing up, so I got a good gist of some of it. My aunt and I are still trying to learn more about our Cherokee roots, too. I also want to thank you bunches for nominating me for the Rock Leibster award too 🙂 I'm honored to be considered with such a great bunch. Your family is so adorable and you do indeed have the prettiest smile! *Hugs*!!!~Tonya

Paula~ I'm so glad you enjoyed this as it was so fun to discover personal tidbits about you, too! Loving the fact that I'm not the only one who acts like a myna bird around others. And wonderful to meet a McQuillan gal! On another curious note abiut MTM, long before my family discovered that I was related to her, I did "Oh ROB!" Laura Petrie impressions all the time. Could I BE a bigger goofball!? Thanks again for passing the Leibster baton- how fun!

You're TOO sweet Tonya! I think it's awesome that you and your aunt are pursuing more info on your Cherokee roots. Growing up in Taos, I was the only Caucasian in my class. All my friends were either Hispanic, Native American (mostly Pueblo or Navajo), or mixed. Many of my friends here in Kansas are Native American- mostly Pottawatomie. My good friend Venida is the VP of Academics at Haskell Indian Nations University here in my town. I wonder if she would be a good resource for assisting you in researching your roots? Can't wait to read your Leibster post!